Kirsten Dickerson is my guest for Happy Half Hour #15. Kirsten is the CEO and founder of Raven + Lily, and a thought leader in the social business and ethical fashion industry. She and her filmmaker husband live in a “tiny house” in the country outside of Austin, Texas on Green Acres, a boutique retreat for artists, families and sojourners. They have a minimalist lifestyle, and are enthusiasts of slow food and slow fashion, and the positive impact they have on people and the planet. Kirsten is a frequent speaker on the topic of ethical fashion, empowering women, and social entrepreneurship.

Kirsten joined me for Happy Hour #52 and is back to catch up on what she's been up to since we chatted last. She shares about Raven + Lily's newest storefront, a dream that unexpectedly came true, her pet peeve and the tyranny of the urgent. You'll love catching back up with Kirsten and hearing the latest goings on in her life.

{You can listen to the showHERE. And of course, I would love if you would share with your friends. Just use the FB & Twitter links at the end of this post!}

Connect with Kirsten

Connect with Jamie

Sponsor

Prep Dish

Prep Dish is a healthy subscription-based meal planning service. When you sign up, you'll receive an email every week with a grocery list and instructions for prepping your meals ahead of time. After a couple of hours on the weekend, you'll have all of your meals ready for the entire week. You'll save time and have some amazingly delicious meals like Smoky Paprika Chicken Legs with Roasted Carrots, Parsnips & Fennel or Turkey & Zucchini Lasagna. And, Allison is offering listeners a special rate of $4 for the first month - that's only $1/weekly meal plan! You can't beat that. Check out Prep-Dish for this amazing deal! Use code: HappyHour

My guest for Happy Hour #108 is the amazing Beth Moore. Beth is a dynamic teacher and a prolific Bible–study author whose public speaking engagements take her around the world to challenge tens of thousands. A wife and mother of two adult daughters, Beth lives in Houston, where she leads Living Proof Ministries and teaches an adult Sunday school class. Her first book with Tyndale House, So Long, Insecurity, was a NYT bestseller. Her debut novel, The Undoing of Saint Silvanus, released on September 20th.

It was my joy and honor to interview Beth. The Lord used her ministry in 1999 to draw me to Himself, and I was able to share that with her and thank her for being faithful to the call God had given her. She was so encouraging to me, and I hope to you too, to remind me that the call that God had on my life far exceeded my dreams and expectations.

In our conversation, Beth also shares about the process of writing her first novel, keeping it a secret, and finally sharing the draft with her youngest daughter. We chat about what she's reading and how much she adores her daughters and husband.

This episode is a little shorter than the typical shows, but I promise you every minute is worth it. It was a dream come true to finally chat with Beth, and I hope you are as encouraged as I was.

{You can listen to the showHERE. And of course, I would love if you would share with your friends. Just use the FB & Twitter links at the end of this post!}

Connect with Beth

Connect with Jamie

Sponsors:

JellyTelly

JellyTelly is the only streaming video app designed just for kids - where God is real and his word is true! With more than 100 shows for Christian kids including VeggieTales, Friends and Heroes, What’s In The Bible, and more - JellyTelly gives you safe screen time for your littles to help them grow in their faith! If you want to do devotionals with your kids but you’re not sure where to start, JellyTelly has a fun and easy way for your family to experience devotionals together - the 5 Minute Family devotional - 16 video devotionals that make it easy to talk to your kids about Jesus. You don’t have to subscribe to JellyTelly to get the devotionals - you can sign up for free atjellytelly.com/devotionals.

WestRock Coffee

Westrock Coffee is a brand that is changing lives by providing coffee that you'll be proud to choose for your home. Their focus is to be a catalyst for real change in the lives of farmers and their families by paying a fair price for the coffee in their delicious blends and offering farmers training to enhance the quality and quantity of their crops. Most of us will enjoy a cup (or two, or three) of coffee each day, some of us without even knowing which brand we chose. Choose Westrock Coffee's delicious coffees that are truly changing lives. Find Westrock Coffee at your local Kroger or go to Westrockcoffee.com to find out where you can add Westrock to your grocery list.

My guest for Happy Hour #107 is Deidra Riggs, author and speaker, and the visionary behind life-changing events for writers, artists, entrepreneurs, and other fabulous people who have an amazing dream. Through her engaging and relatable talks, practical and inspiring books, and first-class events, she works to cross cultural boundaries, build bridges with those who are different, and create more peace in the world while making it all feel like a fabulous celebration of life. When she’s not inspiring women to live life to the fullest and push past invisible boundaries, you can find her frolicking in the ocean, dancing to loud disco tunes, or hosting a group of her closest friends around the dinner table.

In today's conversation, Deidra shares what it's been like for her and her husband to embrace empty nesting. She shares that somewhere along the way while raising children, they decided to start building an empty nest. I love her perspective, and Aaron and I really try to make our marriage the top priority in our family, so that when our kids leave the nest, we still know each other and love each other. Deidra shares practical tips on how they've been successful and are still madly in love after 30 years.

She shares about loving her children through difficult circumstances and choices, her love for disco, her cartwheel regimen and her online book club for open discussion on all things hush hush. I absolutley loved my conversation with Deidra and I really hope you will too.

{You can listen to the showHERE. And of course, I would love if you would share with your friends. Just use the FB & Twitter links at the end of this post!}

Connect with Deidra

Sponsors:

Lily Jade

Lily Jade makes incredible bags at incredible prices. Normally, full grain leather premium totes would retail for hundreds more, but thanks to their unique e-commerce model, they able to get their gorgeous pieces into even more women’s hands. Every bag comes with a removable, washable 14-pocket organizer to protect your investment, and to organize your gear. Not only that, the heart of Lily Jade is to give back, supporting all women, and especially moms. Make sure to check out Lily Jade here.

WestRock Coffee

Westrock Coffee is a brand that is changing lives by providing coffee that you'll be proud to choose for your home. Their focus is to be a catalyst for real change in the lives of farmers and their families by paying a fair price for the coffee in their delicious blends and offering farmers training to enhance the quality and quantity of their crops. Most of us will enjoy a cup (or two, or three) of coffee each day, some of us without even knowing which brand we chose. Choose Westrock Coffee's delicious coffees that are truly changing lives. Find Westrock Coffee at your local Kroger or go to Westrockcoffee.com to find out where you can add Westrock to your grocery list.

My guest for Happy Half Hour #14 is Shannan Martin. Shannan is a blogger, speaker, and writer who found her voice in the country and her story in the city. She and her jail-chaplain husband have four funny children who came to them across oceans and rivers. Having sold their dream farmhouse, they now enjoy neighborhood life in Goshen, Indiana. Shannan's first book, Falling Free: Rescued From the Life I Always Wanted releases today!

Shannan was on the Happy Hour back in the stone ages on episode #45. If you missed that interview, make sure to catch up here. But on this episode, Shannan and I catch up on our latest reads, the best advice she has received and now gives to her children, the dreams she had for herself as she was growing up and her pet peeves.

Connect with Shannan

Sponsor

Prep Dish

Prep Dish is a healthy subscription-based meal planning service. When you sign up, you'll receive an email every week with a grocery list and instructions for prepping your meals ahead of time. After a couple of hours on the weekend, you'll have all of your meals ready for the entire week. You'll save time and have some amazingly delicious meals like Smoky Paprika Chicken Legs with Roasted Carrots, Parsnips & Fennel or Turkey & Zucchini Lasagna. And, Allison is offering listeners a special rate of $4 for the first month - that's only $1/weekly meal plan! You can't beat that. Check out Prep-Dish for this amazing deal! Use code: HappyHour

Christa Black Gifford joined me as my guest for Happy Hour #106. Christa is a dynamic worldwide speaker, worship leader and bestselling songwriter. She is a popular blogger, writes for The Huffington Post, and was the keynote for Women of Faith’s Revolve Tour. Her life goal is to provide resources for those broken by the pain of life, leading them into wholeness of heart and intimacy with Jesus. She’s married to the love of her life, Lucas Gifford. They live in Nashville, with their son, Moses Grae Lionheart, a daughter in heaven, Luca Gold, and their newest addition, daughter, Birdie James. Christa and Lucas are expecting their fourth child in November.

In today's show, Christa and I chat about everything she has going on - from songwriting for a movie to growing another baby to moving houses. She shares how she and her husband endured a difficult season losing a child. I interviewed Christa last month for the Influence Network where she shares more about that experience. If you are interested in hearing more about their loss, you can check that out here. But in today's conversation, she shares about the powerful moment about how the final verse of one of my favorite worship songs, One Thing Remains, became even more true in the moments after her daughter's passing.

Christa also tells about a hilarious experience while touring with the Jonas Brothers, which she talks about like it's totally normal...like who doesn't tour with the Jonas Brothers? I'll let you hear it straight from her, but it involves a crazy fan and a 6th floor hotel room. That's all I am going to say.

{You can listen to the showHERE. And of course, I would love if you would share with your friends. Just use the FB & Twitter links at the end of this post!}

Connect with Christa

Sponsors:

Restore Women's Conference

Need a weekend away to be refreshed? Restored? If so, consider attending Restore Women’s Conference next March in Orange County, California. This weekend conference is designed for women to experience God's grace and rest in an authentic and uplifting environment. Conference admission includes: an unforgettable speaker line-up (Allison Allen, Alli Worthington and me!), worship, Bible journaling, Holy Yoga, three meals, a swag bag and access to our handmade market and mocktail social event. Grab your ticket today at www.restorewomensconference.com and use the promotional code HAPPYHOUR to receive $50 off your admission. The promotional code is good until the event sells out; however, early bird pricing ends September 1st . Invite your girlfriends, sisters, mothers, and aunts; this is an event you don’t want to miss! Restore Women’s Conference is part of R3 Women’s Ministry, Inc. R3 was created to provide fellowship for women through annual conferences, mentorship, outreach, and discipleship. R3’s mission is to encourage and equip women in all seasons - whether they are experiencing a RUT, RESTORATION, or REVIVING in their walk with Jesus Christ. For daily devotions and more information follow @RestoreWomensConference on Instagram and Facebook.

Pine Cove

Pine Cove is an amazing Christian summer camp with youth camps and family camps in East Texas, Central Texas, and opening Summer 2017- a brand new family camp in South Carolina! If you’ve ever dropped your kids off at camp in the summer and wished you could stay- Pine Cove Family Camp is for you! This is the ultimate all-inclusive intentional trip together your family needs! Be refreshed with all the fun activities of summer camp, stay in not-your-typical-camp cabins, and spend a week next summer investing in your family’s spiritual growth. Spots for next summer will fill up fast, so check out pinecove.com/familycamp today to learn more!

My guest for Happy Hour #105 is the beautiful Christina Smallwood. Christina is the mother to Finley, an adorable 3-year-old with mild cerebral palsy. She is pursuing her passion as an advocate for open adoption and cerebral palsy, while using fashion to spread awareness through her mommy and me Instagram account and her blog.

In today's show, Christina shares about adopting Finley from the hospital with an early arrival of 31 weeks, and their journey to a cerebral palsy diagnosis. She talks about the challenges surrounding parenting a child with special needs - everything from birthday party invitations to making difficult medical decisions. You'll also hear how you can join Christina in Steptember as she works to raise vital funds for children and adults living with cerebral palsy.

Also, Christina shares about the sudden and tragic loss of her father, and how her loss has affected her daily life and impacted her faith. And it probably wouldn't be a true happy hour, if I didn't find a way to bring our conversation back around to our current TV indulgences.

Y'all enjoy our conversation, and make sure to check out how you can join Christina this Steptember!

{You can listen to the showHERE. And of course, I would love if you would share with your friends. Just use the FB & Twitter links at the end of this post!}

Connect with Christina

Sponsors:

Restore Women's Conference

Need a weekend away to be refreshed? Restored? If so, consider attending Restore Women’s Conference next March in Orange County, California. This weekend conference is designed for women to experience God's grace and rest in an authentic and uplifting environment. Conference admission includes: an unforgettable speaker line-up (Allison Allen, Alli Worthington and me!), worship, Bible journaling, Holy Yoga, three meals, a swag bag and access to our handmade market and mocktail social event. Grab your ticket today at www.restorewomensconference.com and use the promotional code HAPPYHOUR to receive $50 off your admission. The promotional code is good until the event sells out; however, early bird pricing ends September 1st . Invite your girlfriends, sisters, mothers, and aunts; this is an event you don’t want to miss! Restore Women’s Conference is part of R3 Women’s Ministry, Inc. R3 was created to provide fellowship for women through annual conferences, mentorship, outreach, and discipleship. R3’s mission is to encourage and equip women in all seasons - whether they are experiencing a RUT, RESTORATION, or REVIVING in their walk with Jesus Christ. For daily devotions and more information follow @RestoreWomensConference on Instagram and Facebook.

Pine Cove

Pine Cove is an amazing Christian summer camp with youth camps and family camps in East Texas, Central Texas, and opening Summer 2017- a brand new family camp in South Carolina! If you’ve ever dropped your kids off at camp in the summer and wished you could stay- Pine Cove Family Camp is for you! This is the ultimate all-inclusive intentional trip together your family needs! Be refreshed with all the fun activities of summer camp, stay in not-your-typical-camp cabins, and spend a week next summer investing in your family’s spiritual growth. Spots for next summer will fill up fast, so check out pinecove.com/familycamp today to learn more!

My guest for Happy Half Hour #13 is Bailey Heard. Bailey is a national speaker, co-author of The Ellie Project, author of her weekly inspirational blog, and a certified life-coach. She lives in Highland Village, TX with her young daughter, Ellie. Over the past few years, Bailey has traveled the country, sharing her late husband, Andrew’s, books, Your Best Life Later, A Gray Faith and now, The Ellie Project, and giving her inspirational keynote message that you can take your challenges and transform them into fuel to create a more meaningful life!

If you missed Bailey’s first appearance on the Happy Hour, you’ll definitely want to catch up here. You’ll hear more about her story and journey of losing her husband to cancer. But in today’s episode, we chat about the best advice she has ever been given, how she recharges with yoga and a good audiobook and her childhood dream of becoming an Olympic gymnast.

You’ll love hearing what Bailey has been up to since we chatted last and learning a little bit more about her. And again, make sure to scoot back to episode #53 to hear more from Bailey!

{You can listen to the showHERE. And of course, I would love if you would share with your friends. Just use the FB & Twitter links at the end of this post!}

CONNECT WITH BAILEY

SPONSOR

PREP DISH

Prep Dish is a healthy subscription-based meal planning service. When you sign up, you’ll receive an email every week with a grocery list and instructions for prepping your meals ahead of time. After a couple of hours on the weekend, you’ll have all of your meals ready for the entire week. You’ll save time and have some amazingly delicious meals like Smoky Paprika Chicken Legs with Roasted Carrots, Parsnips & Fennel or Turkey & Zucchini Lasagna. And, Allison is offering listeners a special rate of $4 for the first month – that’s only $1/weekly meal plan! You can’t beat that. Check out Prep-Dish for this amazing deal! Use code: HappyHour